PENERAPAN KEGIATAN INFORMATION GAP DALAM MENINGKATKAN KETERAMPILAN BERBICARA SISWA SMA NEGERI 1 SIGI

ABSTRACT
This research aimed to examine whether the implementation of Information Gap Activities (IGA) can improve the speaking skills of the eleventh-grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Sigi. The focus of this study was on fluency and comprehensibility as the main aspects of speaking. The research employed a quasi-experimental design involving two classes, with class XI E as the experimental group consisting of 30 students and class XI C as the control group consisting of 30 students. The sample was selected using purposive sampling technique. In collecting the data, the researcher administered a pre-test and post-test to both the experimental and control groups. The treatment was only given to the experimental group, which received instruction through Information Gap Activities, while the control group was taught using conventional methods. The data were analyzed statistically using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 16. Since the data were not normally distributed, non-parametric tests were applied, namely the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test and Mann-Whitney U Test. The findings revealed that the mean score of the experimental group increased from 41.67 in the pre-test to 67.50 in the post-test, while the control group only improved from 41.67 to 50.56. In addition, the result of the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test in the experimental group showed that the significance value was lower than 0.05 (p = 0.000), and the Mann-Whitney U Test also indicated a significant difference between the experimental and control groups (p = 0.000). Therefore, it can be concluded that the use of Information Gap Activities can significantly improve the speaking skills of the eleventh-grade students of SMA Negeri 1 Sigi, especially in terms of fluency and comprehensibility.
Keywords: Information Gap Activities, Speaking Skill, Fluency, Comprehensibility